KPD receives reaccreditation award from CALEA

LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i Police Department received a law-enforcement re-accreditation award that is considered the “gold standard in public safety” from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies on Nov. 13.

This international award recognizes professional excellence in law enforcement and is only granted to police departments that choose to undergo an accreditation process in which all criteria for management, safety, service and delivery must be demonstrated.

KPD was required to comply with nearly 200 standards and files that are reviewed by CALEA compliance service members on an annual basis.

In June, two assessors from CALEA examined all aspects of KPD policy and procedures, management, operations and support services to ensure compliance with established standards. The team was able to verify that KPD was, indeed, in compliance with all applicable standards, and they submitted a report of their findings to CALEA.

On Nov. 12, KPD Chief Todd G. Raybuck and the KPD accreditation team appeared before the CALEA Commission Review Committee, and the commission approved the reaccreditation of KPD, good for four years.

“First of all, we’d like to thank the community for participating in this process,” said Elliott “Kalani” Ke, KPD assistant chief for the Administrative and Technical Bureau.

”The public comments and input that were taken during the public-access telephone session and public-information hearing in June were a significant part of our reaccreditation,” he said.

“We also want to thank Mayor Derek S. K. Kawakami’s administration and the Police Commission for their ongoing support of KPD. And, finally, I’d like to personally thank Sgt. Jason Matsuoka and Sgt. Troy Sakaguchi for their roles in this procedure from the onset,” said Ke.

“Sgt. Sakaguchi’s role was particularly critical to maintaining the standards compliance that led to a successful accreditation. His hard work, diligence and attention to detail was what helped make this accreditation so successful.”